Stories

I love how small of a world we live in… Sabrina heard about Love Not Lost from her mom, who is in a church small group with a family friend who attended our launch party last April. Come to find out during the session, Sabrina went to high school with my husband, Kyle! Sabrina & her husband have two sons. Her oldest son, Brennan, started having seizures and was recently diagnosed with a rare and aggressive mitochondrial disease. He is 6 years old and Sabrina mentioned in their application that they wanted to capture memories with him while he was still fairly stable.

When we had our first phone call, Sabrina told me her son LOVES trains. When she mentioned she lived in the Gwinett/Duluth area, I remembered hearing about a train museum in that same area and suggested we meet there for our session. I called the Train Museum to make sure we would be allowed to photograph there and they were happy to host us. When I arrived early to scout the area for photography, it was so much more than I imagined!

I walked up to a huge field of train tracks and in the distance, there were old trains, fancy trains, christmas trains, and more! I could feel the excitement growing inside with each step that brought me closer. I could only imagine what a boy who loves trains would feel at the sight. As I walked into the huge warehouse area to explore, there was a black train decorated with garland, lights, and red ribbon for Christmas that was just stunning. The gentlemen who worked there were proud to tell me it was the very train that used to carry the President of the US around!

When Sabrina and her family arrived, I felt like Christmas was already here. Both Brennan and his little brother, Beckett, were full of excitement and I was excited too! As we walked up to the first big trains outside, I wasn't sure if their smiles could get any bigger as their faces filled with awe and wonder. We walked around checking out each train before boarding a train that would take us around the tracks.

We found a bunk on the train that the boys wanted to climb into, and with some help from mom and dad, the boys made it up safely. We all grabbed a seat in the top bunk areas as we felt the train chug forward. I wish I could write how beautiful the views were from up there, but I was so captivated by the boys' amazement and joy I didn't even look out the windows. The train was so nice and cozy too, so we stayed as long as we could.

When the ride was over, we walked into the warehouse area to take a tour of the trains that were parked inside. The one that was decorated for Christmas made the perfect backdrop for the holidays! I know the blog is a little late getting posted, but don't worry - I emailed some of the best photos to the family in December so they could use them on cards or as gifts.

It was pretty cold in the warehouse, so we didn't want to hang out too long, but it was hard to say goodbye. Beckett and Brennan were so sweet and I'm so glad we were able to capture and preserve these memories together!

As I mentioned before, we're a little late getting this posted, but there's been a ton of work going on behind the scenes! We will give you a full update in the next post, including an invitation to our party on May 18th in Atlanta. Stay tuned!

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